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victoria
Experience the joy of finding
little-known, hidden places, in the wilderness zone between
Reefton on the West Coast, and Lewis Pass in the Southern Alps.
The Victoria Forest Park is a seldom-visited mountainous expanse
that has the honour of being the largest forest park in the
country. The park contains some of our finest beech forests and
fascinating mining relics of the historic Reefton quartz gold
workings. There are heaps of activities to cater for all tastes,
including walks along old mining trails, tramps over steep
tussock ridges, hunting for chamois and red deer, fishing for
rainbow and brown trout, gold panning, camping, 4WD trips and
horse-trekking.
Reefton is a suitable place to begin your explorations of the
park. This pleasant town got its name from the gold-bearing
quartz reefs in the area. It is the centre of some great walking
country leading up towards the Lewis Pass. Reefton installed
electric street lighting in 1888 before the rest of New Zealand.
The Big River Track beginning 11 km south of Reefton gives access
to a wealth of historic mining sites, and attractive wilderness
areas. The massive poppet head structure over the Big River Mine
is still standing, and highlights the laborious task of lifting
ore from the deep mine shafts, to be crushed by stamper
batteries.
Lake Stream is a pleasant jaunt into the isolated sub-alpine
environment of Victoria Forest Park. The track starts 11 km west
of Springs Junction, plunging into charming moss-draped beech
forest and up to a tiny bivouac nestled against the bush-edge.
Lake Cristabel is a 2-3 day tramp leading to a magnificent blue
gem of a lake, with views over the entire Victoria Range. The
most accessible peak in the park is Mt Haast, which can be
climbed in a day from the Inangahua Bridge.
Our biggest forest park has stunning views, wonderful grassy
flats and green canopies in valleys like Lake Stream. Climbing to
the rugged ridge tops is a serious business as the route
scrambles over bluffs and razorback ridges.
It’s a big challenge to conquer the big park.
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